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Written Answers to Questions

Friday 15 October 2004

DEFENCE

Cyprus

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which rights and benefits enjoyed by UK and Commonwealth Forces under the treaty relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus do not extend to non-Commonwealth Forces operating on the bases; and if he will make a statement. [190429]

Mr. Ingram: The rights and benefits accorded to United Kingdom and Commonwealth Forces under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment are set out in Annex C to the treaty papers, which is effectively a Status of Forces Agreement between the UK and Republic of Cyprus (RoC) for UK and Commonwealth forces operating in and visiting the Republic. The benefits the treaty confers include: freedom of movement between the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) and the RoC, jurisdictional protection for certain offences committed in the RoC, exemption from RoC taxes and import duties, and the right to bear arms. Non-Commonwealth forces are not covered under these arrangements and would need to negotiate their own status of forces arrangements with the RoC.

Any Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth forces entering and operating within the SBAs who are covered by the Visiting Forces Act 1952 (which has been extended to the SBAs) are accorded generally the same rights and benefits as similar forces visiting the UK. These include jurisdictional protection and exemptions from taxes and import duties. Our ability to grant full tax and duty exemptions to non-Commonwealth forces is restricted by our treaty commitment to collect taxes, rates and fees from non-entitled persons on behalf of the RoC. Countries not covered by the Visiting Forces Act do not enjoy any privileges within the SBAs other than consent to operate within the bases and the use of SBA facilities. However, minor concessions, such as access to military messes and bars, can be agreed case-by-case for practical purposes.

Deployment

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel are (a) deployed and (b) stationed in (i) Germany, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (iv) Croatia, (v) Kosovo, (vi) Albania, (vii) the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, (viii) Sierra Leone, (ix) the Gulf Region, (x) Turkey, (xi) Gibraltar, (xii) Belize, (xiii) Kenya, (xiv) Canada, (xv) the Falkland Islands, (xvi) Cyprus, (xvii) Brunei and (xviii) Afghanistan. [189805]

Mr. Ingram: This data is compiled from a number of sources. As at late September the approximate numbers of British service personnel deployed or stationed in the locations specified were:
 
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Location	Deployed	Stationed
Germany	0	21,250
Northern Ireland	0	11,180
Bosnia-Herzegovina	720	0
Croatia	0	0
Kosovo	180	0
Albania	0	0
FYR of Macedonia	10	0
Sierra Leone	20	0
The Gulf Region	9,070	0
Turkey	0	0
Gibraltar	0	490
Belize	0	30
Kenya(1)	0	10
Canada(1)	0	210
The Falkland Islands	1,270	0
Afghanistan	650	nil
Cyprus	410	3,100
Brunei	nil	800

⁽¹⁾ Training team only.
Note:
All figures rounded to the nearest 10.

The figures in the table do not include personnel serving in loan and diplomatic posts or on training detachments.

HMS Grimsby

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident involving HMS Grimsby in the Thames, close to Tilbury on 29 September when a rating fell overboard as the vessel collided with other craft. [190239]

Mr. Ingram: HMS Grimsby was undertaking routine survey work in the River Thames. She suffered a problem with her propulsion system while preparing to rescue a crew member who had fallen overboard, and struck two civilian vessels that were alongside a jetty. Neither of the two civilian vessels had people on board and there were no Royal Navy casualties.

The crew member was recovered unharmed by an RNLI rescue boat from Gravesend.

Hurricane Ivan

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the UK armed forces in helping survivors of Hurricane Ivan. [191659]

Mr. Ingram: In recent weeks, the United Kingdom armed forces have provided significant emergency humanitarian assistance in the Caribbean following Hurricane Ivan. The personnel of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Ruler provided emergency humanitarian assistance for Grenada and the Cayman Islands.

Emergency assistance was provided with communications, essential infrastructure, damage assessment, medical support and food distribution. The Royal Navy's role in the aftermath of natural disasters that afflict the region is to provide immediate assistance until such time as full scale humanitarian relief can arrive and the civilian rebuilding effort can begin.
 
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In support of reconstruction efforts on the Cayman Islands, the RAF also supported a deployment from the Bermuda Defence Force with a C-130 aircraft.

As the hurricane season continues, HMS Richmond and RFA Wave Ruler remain in the region, ready to respond in the event of another humanitarian crisis.

Sudan

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the numbers of armed forces personnel HM Government will commit to the United Nations monitoring force in Sudan during the six-year interim period; and if he will make a statement. [189546]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 October 2004, Official Report, column 1891W, to the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty).

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Education Maintenance Allowances

Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications there have been for education maintenance allowances for the academic year 2004–05 in the Morley and Rothwell constituency; and how many have commenced payment. [190808]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and been paid EMA is available at local authority level. By the end of September 2,557 young people in the Leeds local authority area were enrolled for EMA by their school or college, with 2,281 having received an EMA payment. The Assessment and Payment Body is currently turning around correctly completed applications within 10 working days and 3,682 young people in Leeds have now received a Notice of Entitlement to EMA. By the end of September 5,994 young people had applied for EMA from the Leeds local authority area, and of these just over a quarter had applied in September. Incorrect applications are returned to the applicant, some of whom will be ineligible for EMA, while others may have decided to enter full-time work or work based learning. We expect the number of young people receiving EMA to increase over the next few weeks as those who applied late or whose applications needed to be returned, have their applications assessed and are enrolled for payment.

Mature Students

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial help his Department offers mature students wishing to study for a degree. [190261]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 11 October 2004]: Eligible full-time undergraduate students are entitled in 2004/05 to income assessed grants for fees (up to £1,150) and HE grants (up to £1,000); and if aged under 50, or between 50 and 54 and planning to work after their course, to student loans (up to £5,050 in London) with 25 per cent. of the loan income assessed. While the rates
 
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are the same as for younger students, mature students benefit disproportionately because the income assessed for independent students is normally lower and more get the higher levels of support. For example, we expect around a third of all those getting the full HE grant to be independent students, although such students make up only around 15 per cent. of the total student population.

For students with dependants, additional grants include adult dependants grant (worth up to £2,335), Parents Learning Allowance (worth up to £1,330) and a Childcare Grant (worth up to £8,840). As the grants are targeted at students with dependants the main beneficiaries are mature students.

Part-time undergraduate students of any age, and this will include many mature students, may receive income assessed fee grants of up to £575 and course grants of up to £250.

In addition, student parents are eligible to receive Child Tax Credit from the Inland Revenue and disabled students are eligible for DfES disabled students allowances which are not income assessed. Students may also receive additional financial assistance through the Access to Learning Fund, which is funded by the Department and administered by institutions. Priority groups for payments from the fund include student parents and other full-time mature students (especially those with existing financial commitments).

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